SAN FRANCISCO — A body discovered this week on an exterior stairwell at San Francisco General Hospital was confirmed Wednesday to be Lynne Spalding, a 57-year-old San Francisco woman who disappeared from her hospital bed nearly three weeks ago.

There were no answers, however, from hospital officials or the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department about how Spalding died and wound up on the rarely-used stairwell, or whether the hospital was searched thoroughly after she disappeared.

The family of the woman who went missing from her hospital room between 10:15 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Sept. 21 said they were dissatisfied with the official update on Wednesday, their frustration amplified by what they considered a paltry number of answers relative to their growing number of questions.

While officials at the hospital said they had enough information to conclude the body discovered at the hospital Tuesday was that of Lynne Spalding, the medical examiner’s office did not release a definitive identification until about 9:45 p.m. Wednesday evening, when they made a call to the Spalding family confirming the hospital’s conclusion. The medical examiner also said that Spalding’s cause of death remains unknown pending further examination, a family spokesman said.

“At this time, we don’t know what happened. We are here to provide patient care and security to 100,000 patients and their families each year. Nothing like this has ever happened before. There is no precedent,” said Dr. Todd May, Chief Medical Officer at San Francisco General Hospital.

“What happened at our hospital is horrible. We are here to take care of patients — to heal them, to keep them safe. This has shaken us to our core. Our staff is devastated … and I am committed to getting to the root cause of this tragedy to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.”

May went on to say that Spalding’s condition had improved since she checked into the hospital Sept. 19, and was in fair condition at last check but provided little information about what the woman was being treated for, or what medications she may have been on.

Spalding’s boyfriend and daughter drove her to the hospital from her home, 10 blocks away in the Mission District, after she began acting increasingly disoriented and had lost a significant amount of weight, a family spokesman said. She was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection and was hospitalized in a fifth-floor room, steps from the nurses station, for two days before she went missing.

Spalding’s family said the woman had no pre-existing medical conditions, and neither they nor hospital and police officials could immediately say what may have been the cause of her death. Officials declined to comment about the condition of the woman’s body upon discovery.

“We do not know how she came to be in the stairwell yesterday, how long she had been there, or what caused her death,” said Assistant Sheriff Paul Miyamoto, who noted that the rarely-used fire exit stairwell is alarmed and locked from the outside. An engineering staff member discovered Spalding’s body during what he called “a routine quarterly check.”

“The San Francisco Sheriff’s Department is conducting an investigation that includes a review of internal security measures, such as alarms and searches,” Miyamoto added. “All of us are committed to learning what happened and ensuring that it never happens again.”

The statement did little to satisfy Spalding’s family and friends, one of whom was told the stairwell had not been searched since July.

The family wants to know details about the search for Spalding, including information about the hospital’s search protocols, as well as whether video cameras cover every entrance and exit of the hospital, family spokesman David Perry said.

“Are those cameras working? Were they working the day of Lynne’s disappearance? And if they are not in place or working, how long is it going to take for them to get down to Radio Shack and get some cameras? This is ridiculous,” Perry said.

A statement released by the hospital on Tuesday said there was “no video evidence” of the woman leaving the hospital and officials declined to answer questions regarding cameras on the grounds.

“I think San Francisco General has a lot of explaining to do,” said Jenny Rauh, Spalding’s friend and former co-worker in the travel industry. “Instead of looking out there under the overpasses, we should have been looking at the hospital. She was right here. She turned up at the hospital where it’s supposed to be safe. It’s disgusting … it’s horrible.”

A search party spent more than a week canvassing the city with fliers bearing Spalding’s picture after friends suspected drugs given to her at the hospital may have made her even more disoriented, said Perry, who added that the hospital did not issue a statement regarding the woman’s disappearance until the search had already been in progress for 10 days.

“That’s 10 days after dozens of family and friends were scouring the streets of San Francisco with fliers because we were under the assumption that SF General had been searched, and Lynne was not here,” said Perry, who claims that while San Francisco police have been in daily contact with Spalding’s family, the hospital has done little in the way of updates, even to her closest family members.

“Everything stated is fact,” Perry said. “But the one glaring omission is how a woman was missing for 17 days in San Francisco General Hospital. Lynne Spalding died alone in a stairwell, in one of the finest medical institutions in this country. I think there are a lot of questions left to be asked.”

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